Arvind Kejriwal Announces Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana, Offering ₹18,000 Monthly Honorarium for Hindu and Sikh Priests

Aam Aadmi Party Chief, Arvind Kejriwal on Monday unveiled a new initiative, the Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana, which promises a monthly honorarium of ₹18,000 for Hindu priests and Sikh Granthis. The scheme, which aims to honor temple priests and Gurudwara Granthis for their spiritual service, is being touted as a first-of-its-kind initiative in India. Kejriwal announced that the registration for the scheme would begin on Tuesday.

"The name of the scheme is Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana. Under this, there is a provision to give an honorarium to the priests of temples and the granthis of the Gurudwaras. They will be given an honorarium of ₹18,000 per month. This is happening for the first time in the country,” said the former Delhi Chief Minister. "The priest is a class that has carried forward the rituals from generation to generation. They never paid attention to their family and we never paid attention to them," Kejriwal added.

To mark the commencement of the registration process, Kejriwal stated that he would visit the Hanuman Temple in Connaught Place in Delhi on Tuesday. "I will be visiting Hanuman Temple in Connaught Place tomorrow to start the registration of this scheme," he said.

This announcement comes after the AAP recently launched the Mahila Samman Scheme, which promised a monthly stipend of ₹2,100 to unemployed women. However, the scheme faced controversy when the Delhi government’s Women and Child Development (WCD) department issued a notice calling the scheme "non-existent" and advised residents not to share personal details. The AAP swiftly responded, alleging that the officers involved in the confusion were under pressure from the BJP. The party also vowed to take action against the officials.

In the aftermath, Delhi’s Lt Governor V.K. Saxena ordered an inquiry into allegations that personal data of women was being collected by private individuals under the guise of enrolling them for the scheme. A complaint lodged by Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit prompted this investigation. The Delhi Police has formed several teams to look into camps where personal information was allegedly being gathered in the name of the Mahila Samman Yojana.